The creation of Historic Oak Hill State Park in Loudoun County is another step toward reality for The Conservation Fund.
“It’s a pretty exciting project. This one definitely rises above. It’s an incredible resource,” said Heather Richards, The Conservation Fund‘s lead on the project.
Richards was present at the 20 to 0 vote by the House Agriculture Chesapeake and Natural Resources Committee this morning which moves legislation to create Virginia‘s newest state park to the House Appropriations Committee. After that, the legislation will proceed to the Virginia House floor for vote, then the Virginia Senate and finally, the governor’s desk for approval.
According to Richards, preserving Oak Hill, which was the private home of former President James Monroe while he served two terms as president and afterward during his retirement where he wrote his autobiography, could be the last opportunity in Northern Virginia to preserve such history and amount of land.
“It’s magnificent,” Richards said of the 1,200-acre estate 40 miles west of Washington, D.C. The home “is in pristine condition.”
As lead on the project to acquire and preserve Oak Hill, Richards said her immediate concern was how to pay for the home and property. Although the landowner, the DeLashmutt family, was selling at a fraction of what the property and home are worth, Richards knew the amount of infrastructure on the property would require a lot of maintenance going forward.
“It was the biggest challenge at the outset,” Richards said.
A mixture of private funds, grant funding and $22 million from Loudoun County made acquiring Oak Hill possible.
“Loudoun County has been incredibly supportive of this. They really want to see this state park happen,” Richards said.
The biggest hurdle for the project is Virginia General Assembly approval. And Richards has been available to answer questions from legislators. She was at the subcommittee meeting last week to answer questions, many of which she said are about maintenance of the home and property, but the entire estate is already in good condition.
“It’s about as turn-key a state park as it can get,” Richards said.
In a feasibility study, it was determined that the project needed $52 million to purchase the home and property, open the park and create an endowment to operate and pay expenses. Within the $52 million price tag is included $20 million to continue operations as a park, along with the payment of state park fees and overnight fees to “really make it a fully operating entity.”
“It’s good that it’s moving forward. It’s got good bipartisan support,” she said.
The Conservation Fund will purchase the estate and in fall 2025 hand it over to the Virginia Department of Conservation & Recreation. The hope is that the estate will be open as a park in early 2026.
“The goal is to get it open as soon as possible. We would certainly love to have it open for the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence,” Richards said.
Monroe wrote the Monroe Doctrine while living at Oak Hill and presented it to Congress.
Born in Westmoreland County, Monroe became one of America’s Founding Fathers. He attended the College of William & Mary, but dropped out to join the Revolutionary War effort. He served in the Virginia House of Delegates and was governor of Virginia from 1799 to 1802. He served as the United States‘ 5th president from 1817 to 1825.
Monroe died at age 73 of tuberculosis and heart failure on July 4, 1831. He is buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond.
Related stories
Share
Rebecca Barnabi
